WWII Wooden Wonders

The DeHavilland Mosquito is a well known fighter/ bomber of World War II. Would you be surprised to find out that it was constructed mostly of wood? Not only was it made of wood but there were other military aircraft made of wood during WWII as well.
But first let’s take a look at the Mosquito….

DeHavilland Mosquito DH-98

During the war it was thought that if an airplane were built by manufacturers outside of the aircraft industry and out of non strategic materials such as wood, not only could an untapped workforce of cabinet makers and carpenters be utilized, but production could be simplified thereby enabling a faster construction rate of aircraft so vital to the war effort.
The Mosquito, also known as “The Wooden Wonder”, “The Timber Terror”, or “Mossie” is the most famous of these wooden aircraft so I thought we should take a look at how it was built, since these techniques are similar to those used in building other aircraft made of wood.

1. Glue is applied to build up a “sandwich” of plywood for the outer aircraft skins.

2. Wood veneers of birch or spruce were layered with balsa wood cores in between. This is done over a mold so that the final shape is held when cured.

3. Pressure is applied by bands for tight bonds.

4. Here the fuselage skin is removed from the mold.

5. Bulkheads are prepared for the inner structure of the aircraft to be joined to the skins later.

6. After the bulkheads have been attached to the fuselage skins, everything is glued and clamped together.

7. The finished fuselage ready to be attached to the wings.

8. Wing ribs are being attached to the wing spar for the internal structure “skeleton” of the wing.

9. Finally, the wing is covered with wood veneers.

10. The fuselage and wings meet and are joined at 4 attachment points. This is a very light yet extremely strong aircraft.

11. The final systems are added as well as the engines and the aircraft is ready for action!